Enough with the Nick Foles magic, time for Foles to come crashing down to Earth.
Last year, it was a wonderful Cinderella story. Everyone got into it. The Philadelphia Eagles were having their greatest season ever but suddenly it all came crashing down when Carson Wentz went down for the year, but Nick Foles picked up the pieces and played like an elite quarterback leading the Eagles to their first ever Super Bowl championship.
It was awesome for Foles and one day, it’ll be one of those Disney sports movies. Foles is part of Philadelphia lore forever, but it’s time to leave last season behind.
Most movies don’t need sequels. Sure, there’s a few. Lethal Weapon 2 was great. Godfather 2 is legendary. But for every Terminator 2, there are about a dozen Caddyshack 2s.
Let’s realize what Nick Foles is- a backup quarterback who gets hot. He’s Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s not a legend, he’s a mediocre quarterback.
Yup, he’s a mediocre quarterback.
Foles has shown flashes at the NFL level, and when you are a QB that pushes the ball down the field and you have weapons like Zach Ertz and Alshon Jeffery, yes, you can make some plays and sometimes even win some ballgames, but reality always catches up to everyone.
Don’t get me wrong, Foles isn’t a bad quarterback, he’s just not a good quarterback. He was dreadful in week one this year against the Atlanta Falcons, and while he played better in week two, he still didn’t get enough done to beat a bad Tampa Bay Bucs team.
And while the three straight games he’s won at the end of the season have been great, let’s take a closer look. Those wins included a shell-shocked LA Rams team with a broken Todd Gurley and a gift of a fumble at the end of the game (and Foles wasn’t phenomenal). He had some great stats against the Houston Texans but with the game on the line on the game’s final two drives, Foles finished the game 3 for 8 for 44 yards. The Eagles game winning drive was as much a result of a nice Darren Sproles run and a roughing the passer penalty than anything Foles did.
The final game of the season, the Eagles beat a broken Washington Redskins team. It’s hard to take anything out of that game. Foles played well, but Rex Grossman would have played well in those circumstances.
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One other thing to keep in mind, Foles magical run last year included a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This season Foles is starting on the road on wild card weekend against the Chicago Bears, a team that’s 7-1 at home and playing a defense that has been stifling.
The Eagles won’t be able to run the ball against the Bears. It’s just not going to happen, that will force the Eagles offense to be one-dimensional. While the Eagles offensive line is solid, the Bears still should be able to get to Foles, and if they bring some pressure, Nick Foles making quick decisions is not the Nick Foles Doug Pederson wants to see.
The Bears’ defense can expose this Nick Foles magic for what it is. A backup quarterback who had a great run last year, but it’s now this year.
Don’t buy the hype, Foles won’t be the player that the Eagles’ fans think they have.
It’s time to prove Nick Foles is nothing more than Caddyshack. A great movie, but when it came time for the sequel, it all came crashing down.